Larry Bird vs. Jakob Poeltl Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jakob Poeltl and Larry Bird, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.

Larry Bird played 13 years in the NBA, 4 more than Jakob Poeltl, who played 9. Larry Bird had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while Jakob Poeltl had his rookie season in 2016-17. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achievements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Rookie Season
	Larry Bird	Jakob Poeltl
Season	1979-80	2016-17
Team	Boston Celtics	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Raptors Lost East Conf Semis

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Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	82	36.0	21.3	2.6	7.8	10.4	4.5	1.7	0.6	3.2	3.4	8.5	17.8	.474	0.7	1.7	.406	3.7	4.4	.836
difference:	+28	+24.4	+18.2	+1.2	+6.2	+7.3	+4.3	+1.4	+0.2	-2.7	-1.3	+7.3	+15.7	+.109	+0.7	+1.7		+3.1	+3.3	+.292
Jakob Poeltl	54	11.6	3.1	1.4	1.6	3.1	0.2	0.3	0.4	0.5	2.1	1.2	2.1	.583	0.0	0.0	-	0.6	1.1	.544
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	9	41.3	21.3	2.4	8.8	11.2	4.7	1.6	0.9	3.7	3.3	9.2	19.7	.469	0.4	1.7	.267	2.4	2.8	.880
difference:	+3	+37.0	+19.6	+1.4	+7.8	+9.2	+4.7	+1.4	+0.7	-3.7	-2.8	+8.4	+17.9	+.014	+0.4	+1.7		+2.4	+2.5	+.880
Jakob Poeltl	6	4.3	1.7	1.0	1.0	2.0	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.0	0.5	0.8	1.8	.455	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.3	.000

Season 2
	Larry Bird	Jakob Poeltl
Season	1980-81	2017-18
Team	Boston Celtics	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Raptors Lost East Conf Semis

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2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	82	39.5	21.2	2.3	8.6	10.9	5.5	2.0	0.8	3.5	2.9	8.8	18.3	.478	0.2	0.9	.270	3.5	4.0	.863
difference:		+20.9	+14.3	+0.3	+5.8	+6.1	+4.8	+1.5	+0.4	-2.5	-0.3	+5.7	+13.6	+.181	+0.2	+0.9		+2.8	+2.8	+.269
Jakob Poeltl	82	18.6	6.9	2.0	2.8	4.8	0.7	0.5	1.2	1.0	2.6	3.1	4.7	.659	0.0	0.0	-	0.7	1.2	.594
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	17	44.1	21.9	2.9	11.1	14.0	6.1	2.3	1.0	3.6	3.1	8.6	18.4	.470	0.2	0.5	.375	4.5	5.0	.894
difference:	+8	+28.5	+16.5	+1.2	+8.8	+10.0	+5.4	+2.0	+0.6	-2.7	-0.3	+6.7	+15.0	+.078	+0.2	+0.4	+.375	+2.8	+2.9	+.105
Jakob Poeltl	9	15.6	5.4	1.7	2.3	4.0	0.7	0.3	0.4	0.9	2.8	1.9	3.4	.548	0.0	0.1	.000	1.7	2.1	.789

Season 3
	Larry Bird	Jakob Poeltl
Season	1981-82	2018-19
Team	Boston Celtics	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Spurs Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	77	38.0	22.9	2.6	8.3	10.9	5.8	1.9	0.9	3.3	3.2	9.2	18.4	.503	0.1	0.7	.212	4.3	4.9	.863
difference:		+21.5	+17.4	+0.3	+5.3	+5.6	+4.6	+1.5		-2.7	-1.6	+6.8	+14.6	+.142	+0.1	+0.7		+3.7	+3.7	+.330
Jakob Poeltl	77	16.5	5.5	2.3	3.0	5.3	1.2	0.4	0.9	0.6	1.6	2.4	3.8	.645	0.0	0.0	-	0.6	1.2	.533
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	12	40.8	17.8	2.8	9.8	12.5	5.6	1.9	1.4	3.2	3.6	7.3	17.2	.427	0.1	0.5	.167	3.1	3.8	.822
difference:	+5	+15.5	+10.5	+0.8	+5.7	+4.8	+3.9	+1.6	+0.7	-2.8	-0.1	+4.0	+12.1	+.212	+0.1	+0.4	+.167	+2.4	+2.5	+.266
Jakob Poeltl	7	25.3	7.3	3.6	4.1	7.7	1.7	0.3	0.7	0.4	3.7	3.3	5.1	.639	0.0	0.1	.000	0.7	1.3	.556

Season 4
	Larry Bird	Jakob Poeltl
Season	1982-83	2019-20
Team	Boston Celtics	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	79	37.7	23.6	2.4	8.6	11.0	5.8	1.9	0.9	3.0	2.5	9.5	18.7	.504	0.3	1.0	.286	4.4	5.3	.840
difference:	+13	+20.0	+18.0	+0.4	+4.9	+5.3	+4.0	+1.3	+0.5	-2.2	-0.6	+7.0	+14.7	+.120	+0.3	+1.0		+3.8	+4.0	+.375
Jakob Poeltl	66	17.7	5.6	2.0	3.7	5.7	1.8	0.6	1.4	0.8	1.9	2.5	4.0	.624	0.0	0.0	-	0.6	1.3	.465
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	6	40.0	20.5	3.3	9.2	12.5	6.8	2.2	0.5	3.2	2.5	8.2	19.3	.422	0.2	0.7	.250	4.0	4.8	.828
Jakob Poeltl	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 5
	Larry Bird	Jakob Poeltl
Season	1983-84	2020-21
Team	Boston Celtics	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	79	38.3	24.2	2.3	7.8	10.1	6.6	1.8	0.9	3.0	2.5	9.6	19.5	.492	0.2	0.9	.247	4.7	5.3	.888
difference:	+10	+11.6	+15.6	+0.9	+3.0	+2.2	+4.7	+1.1	+0.9	-1.8		+5.8	+13.3	+.124	+0.2	+0.9		+3.8	+3.5	+.380
Jakob Poeltl	69	26.7	8.6	3.2	4.8	7.9	1.9	0.7	1.8	1.2	2.5	3.8	6.2	.616	0.0	0.0	-	0.9	1.8	.508
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	23	41.8	27.5	2.7	8.3	11.0	5.9	2.3	1.2	3.8	3.1	10.0	19.0	.524	0.3	0.7	.412	7.3	8.3	.879
Jakob Poeltl	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 6
	Larry Bird	Jakob Poeltl
Season	1984-85	2021-22
Team	Boston Celtics	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	80	39.5	28.7	2.1	8.5	10.5	6.6	1.6	1.2	3.1	2.6	11.5	22.0	.522	0.7	1.6	.427	5.0	5.7	.882
difference:	+12	+10.5	+15.2	+1.8	+3.0	+1.2	+3.8	+0.9	+0.5	-1.5	-0.5	+5.5	+12.2	+.096	+0.7	+1.6		+3.6	+2.9	+.387
Jakob Poeltl	68	29.0	13.5	3.9	5.5	9.3	2.8	0.7	1.7	1.6	3.1	6.0	9.8	.618	0.0	0.0	-	1.4	2.8	.495
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	20	40.8	26.0	2.7	6.5	9.1	5.8	1.7	1.0	2.9	2.7	9.8	21.3	.461	0.4	1.3	.280	6.1	6.8	.890
Jakob Poeltl	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 7
	Larry Bird	Jakob Poeltl
Season	1985-86	2022-23
Team	Boston Celtics	San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	82	38.0	25.8	2.3	7.5	9.8	6.8	2.0	0.6	3.2	2.2	9.7	19.6	.496	1.0	2.4	.423	5.4	6.0	.896
difference:	+10	+11.5	+13.3	+1.0	+1.7	+0.7	+4.1	+1.1	+0.6	-1.5	-0.5	+4.3	+11.0	+.133	+1.0	+2.4		+3.7	+3.2	+.304
Jakob Poeltl	72	26.5	12.5	3.3	5.8	9.1	2.7	0.9	1.2	1.7	2.7	5.4	8.6	.629	0.0	0.0	-	1.7	2.8	.592
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	18	42.8	25.9	1.9	7.4	9.3	8.2	2.1	0.6	2.6	3.1	9.5	18.4	.517	1.3	3.1	.411	5.6	6.1	.927
Jakob Poeltl	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 8
	Larry Bird	Jakob Poeltl
Season	1986-87	2023-24
Team	Boston Celtics	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	74	40.6	28.1	1.7	7.5	9.2	7.6	1.8	0.9	3.2	2.5	10.6	20.2	.525	1.2	3.0	.400	5.6	6.1	.910
difference:	+24	+14.2	+17.0	+1.2	+1.8	+0.6	+5.1	+1.1	+0.6	-1.7	-0.5	+5.6	+12.6	+.131	+1.2	+3.0		+4.4	+4.0	+.359
Jakob Poeltl	50	26.4	11.1	2.9	5.7	8.6	2.5	0.7	1.5	1.5	3.0	5.0	7.6	.656	0.0	0.0	-	1.2	2.1	.551
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	23	44.1	27.0	1.8	8.3	10.0	7.2	1.2	0.8	3.1	2.4	9.4	19.7	.476	0.6	1.8	.341	7.7	8.4	.912
Jakob Poeltl	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 9
	Larry Bird	Jakob Poeltl
Season	1987-88	2024-25
Team	Boston Celtics	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	76	39.0	29.9	1.4	7.8	9.3	6.1	1.6	0.8	2.8	2.1	11.6	22.0	.527	1.3	3.1	.414	5.5	6.0	.916
difference:	+19	+9.4	+15.4	+1.9	+1.5	+0.3	+3.3	+0.4	+0.4	-0.9	-1.0	+5.2	+11.8	+.100	+1.3	+3.0	+.081	+3.8	+3.5	+.242
Jakob Poeltl	57	29.6	14.5	3.3	6.3	9.6	2.8	1.2	1.2	1.9	3.1	6.4	10.2	.627	0.0	0.1	.333	1.7	2.5	.674
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	17	44.9	24.5	1.7	7.1	8.8	6.8	2.1	0.8	2.9	2.6	8.9	19.9	.450	0.7	1.9	.375	5.9	6.6	.894
Jakob Poeltl	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years
* Larry Bird played 4 seasons more than Jakob Poeltl in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 10 to 13, from 1989 to 1992—Larry Bird played in 3 Playoffs. In those 4 extra years over Jakob Poeltl, Larry Bird got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA Second Team 3 All-Star Game